News & Rumors: Xbox One (codename Durango)

[RancidLunchmeat]

I think I'm not understanding the whole "Games with Gold" concept.

I could be mistaken, but it seems to me that Worms and IDARB have been the Games with Gold since December or something, whenever I picked up my console. Each month, it's like the same games. Okay.. so it looks like next month Worms has finally dropped off and Rayman has been added which is new.

But I don't get it. Am I supposed to be excited that IDARB is one of the free games for March? HURRAY! Oh, wait, I downloaded that when it was free two or three months ago? A Gold member? Congratulations! You can have these free games as your reward! They're the same games as last month, but they're still free!

Maybe I'm missing something...

 

[BRiT]

No. They have only carried over 2 games from the previous month(Max: The Curse of the Brotherhood June/July & Crimson Dragon August/September). All other times it's only been 1 game a month. Check my spreadsheet.

Tommy McClain

Uhm no.

After the first month if you actually went to the marketplace or went to the games with gold promo mm page, there has always been 2 games available for free on xbox one. Chariot was available for 2 months. Worms was available for 2 months. Halo Spartan was available for 2 months. Guacamelee Super Turbo Champio ship was available for 2 months. Pretty much each and every single game has been out there for free for 2 months.

 

[AzBat]

Uhm no.

After the first month if you actually went to the marketplace or went to the games with gold promo mm page, there has always been 2 games available for free on xbox one. Chariot was available for 2 months. Worms was available for 2 months. Halo Spartan was available for 2 months. Guacamelee Super Turbo Champio ship was available for 2 months. Pretty much each and every single game has been out there for free for 2 months.

They are not being advertised by Major Nelson or Xbox Wire as being available for an additional month. Yes, there were a couple that were announced that way last summer, but after that they never mentioned it again. Also, Xbox Wire is advertising announced "twice the free games in April" & then says only "two free games on Xbox One" are available. Sounds like it might just be a hidden deal.

Tommy McClain

 

[BRiT]

They are not being advertised by Major Nelson or Xbox Wire as being available for an additional month. Yes, there were a couple that were announced that way last summer, but after that they never mentioned it again. Also, Xbox Wire is advertising announced "twice the free games in April" & then says only "two free games on Xbox One" are available. Sounds like it might just be a hidden deal.

Tommy McClain

Yeah, its very odd for them to not list out the previous game as still being free. Maybe they learned that people dont get excited over the same items as being free so they just dont bring attention to it? They sure have made it tough to keep track of what they really had to offer.

We'll find out soon enough if IDARB will continue on next month or not, at least I think that's the game listed for February.

 

[Scott_Arm]

I think I'm not understanding the whole "Games with Gold" concept.

I could be mistaken, but it seems to me that Worms and IDARB have been the Games with Gold since December or something, whenever I picked up my console. Each month, it's like the same games. Okay.. so it looks like next month Worms has finally dropped off and Rayman has been added which is new.

But I don't get it. Am I supposed to be excited that IDARB is one of the free games for March? HURRAY! Oh, wait, I downloaded that when it was free two or three months ago? A Gold member? Congratulations! You can have these free games as your reward! They're the same games as last month, but they're still free!

Maybe I'm missing something...

What you're missing is awareness of time. IDARB has only been free since the beginning of February. There is a new free game every month, and usually the game from the previous month is free for a second month in a row. There are new deals every month as well.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

What you're missing is awareness of time. IDARB has only been free since the beginning of February. There is a new free game every month, and usually the game from the previous month is free for a second month in a row. There are new deals every month as well.

So they're available for two months with a new rotation every month? And they announce the games a month in advance to them actually be released? So IDARB would have been "rumored" as a Games with Gold in January, I grabbed it when it was available in February, this has been the longest 28 day month ever, and IDARB is still around for another month.

So there's really only one new game a month, while the old one is rotated out and that new game will stay on for the next month too. Explains why it feels like Worms has been the GwG forever as well but is now rotated out.

 

[Jwm]

^ Yep - that is what I was trying to say and failed badly at. Not two new games, but there are still two free games per month.

Vs 360 where you get the month split - causing me to always forget the second free game. I do think 360 games are permanent, while X1 are really rentals.

 

[AzBat]

Yeah, its very odd for them to not list out the previous game as still being free. Maybe they learned that people dont get excited over the same items as being free so they just dont bring attention to it? They sure have made it tough to keep track of what they really had to offer.

We'll find out soon enough if IDARB will continue on next month or not, at least I think that's the game listed for February.

Yeah, it's listed for February. Problem is I don't have more than one Gold account. So I have no way of knowing if the game is still secretly available after the first month since I've already bought it. BTW, I've gone back & checked previous GWG announcements on Xbox Wire & since September they continue to only announce the game is available for 1 month. June-August was just odd for Xbox One Games with Gold.

So they're available for two months with a new rotation every month? And they announce the games a month in advance to them actually be released? So IDARB would have been "rumored" as a Games with Gold in January, I grabbed it when it was available in February, this has been the longest 28 day month ever, and IDARB is still around for another month.

So there's really only one new game a month, while the old one is rotated out and that new game will stay on for the next month too. Explains why it feels like Worms has been the GwG forever as well but is now rotated out.

They're not advertising 2 games available concurrently each month. They have only done it twice back in the summer. So I wouldn't bet on it happening every month. Best get it the month it's advertised or you might miss out. BTW, they also don't announce the deal a month in advance. Usually it's less than a week before the 1st of the month. There have been a few exceptions however. #IDARB was announced 1 month 3 weeks ahead, but it wasn't even available until Feb 1. Other than that you have to wait until the end of the month. Which makes sense they want to try keep people buying up until it's free. No sense in cannibalizing too many sales.

Tommy McClain

 

[BRiT]

Yeah, it's listed for February. Problem is I don't have more than one Gold account. So I have no way of knowing if the game is still secretly available after the first month since I've already bought it.

You don't have to do anything fancy, just load up the following page and see what's listed while not being logged in. It has always listed 2 games each and every month except the first month. http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/games-with-gold?xr=shellnav

Here is January. Compare it with the 'official' announcement.

 

[AzBat]

Odd. Sounds like one hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing. February is #IDARB, January was actually D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die & December was Worms Battlegrounds. So I could see D4 & Worms being available in January & #IDARB & D4 in February. Weird that they are still showing Worms as available almost 2 months after it's original month. Here's the official announcement for all 3 of those games. Note the availability dates.



http://news.xbox.com/2015/01/games-bundle-up-with-some-hot-deals-with-february-games-with-gold


http://news.xbox.com/2014/12/games-start-the-new-year-off-with-some-sweet-games-with-gold


http://news.xbox.com/2014/11/games-december-games-with-gold

Me thinks that whoever is responsible for maintaining http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/games-with-gold is asleep at the wheel.

Tommy McClain

 

[Cyan]

What you're missing is awareness of time. IDARB has only been free since the beginning of February. There is a new free game every month, and usually the game from the previous month is free for a second month in a row. There are new deals every month as well.

Yes, additionally, if you join the Xbox Rewards http://rewards.xbox.com/ program and play any of the free Games with Gold titles for 10 hours in a single month, they add points to your Xbox Rewards and they convert them into your country's currency. Earning achievements, buying digital games or simply playing also earns you points towards the Rewards.

With the points I got I purchased quite a few games already.

On a different note, Microsoft has slashed $20 off an annual Xbox Live Gold subscription, so after trimming the price of a 12-months Xbox Live Gold membership, Xbox Live Gold just costs 40$ a year now.

http://www.windowscentral.com/micro...selling-12-month-xbox-live-gold-membership-40

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Well, based on the above, it seems my awareness of time isn't as bad as initially proposed. Worms and IDARB were both promoted as available for eons.

 

[Jwm]

Anyone catch the fine-print on Fable Legends where Gold is required for the PC version? Could that be the reason behind the price change?

Edit: Nevermind, see below.

 

[Scott_Arm]

Anyone catch the fine-print on Fable Legends where Gold is required for the PC version? Could that be the reason behind the price change?

That fine print never existed

"WILL I NEED TO PAY FOR GOLD MEMBERSHIP TO PLAY ON WINDOWS 10 PC?
No, Windows 10 PC will not require Xbox Live Gold."

 

[Jwm]

^ Darn Internet! It lies... Thanks @Scott_Arm for the catch on that, I trusted twitter before looking.

 

[Rangers]

Not sure where to put it but spotted this on GAG, it's cool:

http://imgur.com/a/IkvsC

Basically it's a sleek external hard drive caddy for X1 with USB ports, that clips to the side of the X1 and plugs into it's USB port. Would like to see it on a black console though. It's supposedly $40 and available at Best Buy.

This guy bought a 2TB HDD (presumably retail at Best Buy) and his total cost was $200. that's too much for me. However, I checked newegg and 1TB 2.5" drives go for 60, so you could upgrade with 1TB for $100 with this.

Also if it ever hits Amazon or the like, I would guess it would run more like $20 which would be better, although $40 isn't unreasonable.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...xbox-one-media-hub-183654001101/10323155.aspx

Superedit: Upon more research it seems very hard to get hold of, seems to only be available in Canada. Further there's concerns it blocks ventilation, although debate about how much it would matter (along the lines of X1 being already well ventilated, and the Blu Ray blocking most ventilation on that side anyway).

All in all the ventilation thing would kind of be a dealbreaker for me. Just the 1% chance of an issue not being worth it.

 

[AlNom]

Fairly sure that's a couple months old... thought I recall it being brought up here.

 

[eastmen]

I don't think you will loose a lot of cooling. You have the bluray there blocking most of it.

 

[Scott_Arm]

^ Darn Internet! It lies... Thanks @Scott_Arm for the catch on that, I trusted twitter before looking.

Whenever I hear weird rumours about gaming-related things, I go straight to the official source and check. They almost always turn out to be wrong, and in that case are usually literacy issues perpetrated on gaming forums. It seems a lot of gamers will trust a source on a forum that reads at a 2nd-grade level, and spread that information rather than bothering to check if it's true.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Fairly sure that's a couple months old... thought I recall it being brought up here.

It was. I think it was AzBat who originally posted. I remember it, because I commented how it most people wouldn't even know you had an external drive with that attached. They did a great job making it look like part of the original machine. Don't know why they couldn't have also ventilated the case though to pass through air, and in the process help cool the HDD that you put in it.

Regards,
SB